The invention relates to air fresheners and more particularly to scented waxed plush toys.
It is an object of the invention to provide an air freshener disguised as a plush toy.
It is an alternate object of the invention to provide an air freshener disguised as an accessory for decorating or otherwise gracing or humoring a room or office or like space.
It is another object of the invention to provide a method for producing scented waxed plush articles in which economy and simplicity are paramount.
These and other aspects and objects of the invention are provided in a plush article having a coating of wax which is imbued with a scent substance that diffuses over time. That way, such a coated scented plush article thereby doubles as an ornamental accessory as well as a disguised air freshener. Optionally the wax can be selected from any of and without limitation beeswax, carnauba wax, paraffin wax, soy wax, liquid wax, pillar wax, and/or granular wax. Likewise, the scent substance can be selected from and without limitation any of essential oils, perfume oils, alcohol- or glycerin-based extracts, and/or finely pulverized solid materials including any of salts, hard resins, wood chips, and/or wood dust.
Preferably, the plush article originally comprises a soft casing, like that stuffed with an infill material, and which soft casting preferably has a velvety, fuzzy or furry finish, because this affords the wax coating better opportunity to adhere securely thereto. During the process of producing the coated scented plush article, it preferably is produced with a thick wax base layer. The thick wax base layer not only provides a flat bottom for resting the article on a planar support surface (eg., book shelves or cabinet tops) but also adds weight and hence provides the plush article with a low-center of gravity, and thus stability, for propping up the plush article in a given posture or other position of repose. Indeed, if the wax coating is a xe2x80x9chardxe2x80x9d coating, such then immobilizes the plush toy in a more or less permanent posture or position of repose.
Aspects of the inventive method for producing the above-sketched scented waxed plush article include the following. Briefly, a plush article is coated in the wax, and the wax is imbued (including without limitation by any of the example ways given below) with a scent substance that diffuses its scent slowly over time such that, as desired, the scented waxed plush article doubles as an ornamental accessory as well as an air freshener.
The step of coating optionally comprises this approach to the matter. That is, at some original time a stock supply of hard wax is warmed to obtain elevated-temperature liquified wax, which is then applied to the plush article to coat in such elevated-temperature liquified wax. Then, the resulting coated plush article is set aside in a chosen posture or position of repose to both cool and hence be immobilized or xe2x80x9cfrozenxe2x80x9d in the chosen posture or position of repose as the elevated-temperature liquified wax consequently hardens.
The steps of coating and scenting can be combined and intertwined in various ways. For example, the step of coating might be undertaken either by dipping the plush article in liquified wax or else spraying on liquified wax onto the plush article. The plush article is optionally coated in whole or in part whether by dipping or spraying.
The step of imbuing the wax with the scent substance can be achieved either by premixing the scent substance with wax before the step of coating or alternatively, after the step of coating, by infusing the scent substance in the wax at elevated temperature. Elevating the temperature of the wax makes it better at accepting the infusion of the scent substance.
The coating step might immediately yield a plush article dripping with runny hot wax. This can be taken advantage of by positioning such in a given position of repose on a planar work surface and allowing a thick wax base layer to pool around and harden such that the end-product scented waxed plush article is provided with a flat bottom for setting on planar support surfaces and a weighted base providing a low-center of gravity and hence stability for propping up the plush article in the given position of repose.
Other options with the coating step might include elevating the temperature of solid wax to obtain liquified wax and then coating the supplied plush article with such elevated-temperature liquified wax. That way, the step of imbuing the wax with the scent substance might combine a step of allowing the elevated-temperature wax coating to cool concurrently with a step of infusing the cooling wax coating with the scent substance. The infusing step might be achieved by spraying an aerosol or liquid form of the scent substance onto the cooling wax.
The plush article in its original design can be of about anything, whether of nature or pure abstraction, including any designs realistically or otherwise imitating a plant, animal or human form. After production, the plush article might be further adorned in wearing apparel or other accessories. Long after production, indeed after an extended aging period following final production, the owner of the scented waxed plush article can reinvigorate the scent-diffusion power of the scented wax by mildly warming up the wax of the coating. This can be achieved as simply by using a conventional hair dryer. A number of additional features and objects will be apparent in connection with the following discussion of preferred embodiments and examples.